In the wake of ICE raids across Wisconsin, schools work to support wary, scared families

Green Bay-area residents hold pro-immigration and refugee signs in support of diversity and inclusion before a recent march through downtown Green Bay.(Photo: Jeff Bollier/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

APPLETON - Last Thursday, Appleton West High School Principal Mark McQuade sat in a meeting with a small group of concerned students.

The students had heard through the grapevine that ICE agents were outside of Appleton East High School.

In the wake of a string of detentions by ICE across Wisconsin, rumors had spread on the internet and social media, sparking new fears.

Schools across Wisconsin are scrambling to support a largely invisible population. Some put out district-wide communications explaining student rights. Others maintain a student-by-student approach, engaging only when a student expresses a concern.

McQuade was aware that people were worried following the weekend of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that ended in 83 arrests statewide, but was learning firsthand (admittedly, to his surprise) how quickly misinformation could spread.

The staff rushed to get accurate information out.

"The bottom line is that we want our kids to feel like they can come here and not worry about anything other than learning," McQuade said. "And the reality is they're nervous. And that's not just whoever our undocumented students might be. It's students who might be documented who know people who might be undocumented, or people who might be documented but who might not have the facts on what's going on."

District officials confirmed to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin the rumors about East High School were unsubstantiated.

A similar situation out of Madison, reported by Wisconsin Public Radio on Sept. 25, revealed fears in Madison as word spread that ICE agents were seen near Madison East High School — apparently just to buy lunch at a nearby McDonald's.

ICE confirmed deportation officers do not go to schools because they are "sensitive locations" avoided by the agency.

But there is more to families' concerns than fears that a student will be detained, said Chris VanderHeyden, superintendent of Menasha Joint School District.

He doesn't think ICE is going to arrive at his schools to take kids, but noted there are parents who could be at risk, and that affects his students.

"We don't know what kinds of conversations are going on at home," VanderHeyden said. "You know, are these kids lying awake at night thinking, 'I don't know if my mom and dad are going to be here when I come home from school tomorrow?' Then they're at school and that stuff's all in the background, in their mind."

Fears about ICE arrests affect schools regardless of the students' immigration status, district officials and immigrant advocates said. Living at the risk of deportation affects families on a whole — and there are those who aren't taking the chance.

Luca Lopes Fagundes, a Green Bay-based immigration attorney, said he has one client who pulled her three kids, all U.S. citizens, out of Appleton schools when she heard ICE was looking for her husband, who is currently working to get his green card. The family decided to leave town to lie low.

He said people in the communities he works in, including Green Bay and Appleton, are afraid that they could be next.

"It's complete terror," he said. "Everybody is afraid. They don't know what to do."

"Sensitive location" designation makes schools a unique haven

According to ICE's website, schools are designated "sensitive locations." This includes licensed daycare facilities, early learning facilities, universities and known school bus stops when students are there.

Other sensitive locations include places of worship, public demonstrations and hospitals.

ICE can go to sensitive locations in extreme circumstances if they believe there is a risk of physical harm, destruction of evidence or a chance someone could escape. Districts and advocates say they've never heard of it happening before in Wisconsin.

In Green Bay, the district looked into reports of immigration officials waiting outside various district schools, said Green Bay School District spokeswoman Lori Blakeslee.

“We looked into all of that and confirmed this was not the case. As far as we could tell no one was aware of ICE having been either near or at the schools,” she said.

But there's a difference between policy and law, said Sarah Griffiths, an attorney with the Milwaukee-based Grzeca Law Group. Grzeca is a full-service immigration law firm that also operates in Green Bay and the Fox Cities.

"This policy has really limited ICE from carrying out enforcement actions at schools and other locations, but it's not codified in the law," Griffiths said. "The policy is basically rooted in a government memorandum that could be changed really at any time."

There's no indication that there are any plans to change or remove the sensitive locations rule, Griffiths said. Other laws and policies also protect undocumented students.

The Supreme Court decision in Plyler V. Doe established that undocumented students have the right to a public education. Schools don't collect information about immigration status during registration.

The Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevent schools from releasing student information of any kind to third parties, including ICE.

There are safeguards in place to make sure families know who is taking their child out of school.

“Absent a warrant or an authorization from a family, we wouldn’t turn a child over to any adult whether it be from ICE or it be any other government agency or any other third party that would come to our schools,” Green Bay schools attorney Melissa Thiel Collar said shortly after the arrests. “We’ve trained our principals, we’ve trained our front office staff who to release kids to and who to release student information to.”

That warrant must be court-issued, a statement from the Appleton Area School District noted.

Fears keep some students home, though it's impossible to track

In Abbotsford, which has a large Hispanic community, most parents brought their children to school the Monday after the arrests by federal immigration officials.

According to the Department of Public Instruction, during the 2017-18 school year, 363 of the school district's 750 students were Hispanic.

On Monday there were five to 10 elementary students out and handful from the middle and high school, said Cheryl Baker, superintendent for Abbotsford School District. Students were back in class by Tuesday.

Districts across the state have no real way to know how many students were kept home because of immigration concerns beyond looking at the numbers for populations they know are likely to be impacted by ICE raids. But there are some parents who are clear on why their student is staying home.

“It was really one day where there were a few less kids in the building and the parents were very clear that ‘we are keeping them home today,’” Baker said.

Immigration officials have never come looking for a student at a school in the district, she said.

“We are a sanctuary within a city and that’s the way it should be,” Baker said.

Comparing attendance numbers at the same time last year, the Green Bay district did not see a significant drop in attendance following arrests by immigration officials, Blakeslee said.

A statement from Appleton Area School District also confirmed no significant impact of the ICE activity on attendance.

But the whispers still get back to administrators, especially in districts with more diverse student populations, at which point districts say they do their best to explain why school is a safe place.

"A couple of my principals have reported to me that they received calls from parents who were not going to send their students to school because of concerns about what was going on with the ICE piece," Menasha's VanderHeyden said.

"From our perspective, that put us in a spot to try to reassure them that we're a safe place for them," he said. "Our position is we provide for every kid that shows up."

Trust building, trauma support key as districts walk the line

School districts across the state have responded differently to the events of last week.

Neenah Public Schools Communications Manager Jim Strick said the district's guidance counselors he spoke with had not heard of any student concerns, but that the district will address issues on a student-by-student basis.

In Abbotsford, while nothing additional was done for students following the arrests, there are already a lot of supports in place for students in need of assistance, including in-house mental health care.

Green Bay schools also responded on a student-by-student basis.

“We would support families based on need,” said Katy DeVillers, Green Bay School District associate director of pupil services.

While supporting students, being a resource for the community and maintaining an apolitical stance, public schools walk a fine line.

It's an issue the Appleton Area School District experienced firsthand, in its efforts to provide families with a reliable, non-partisan toolbox of their rights. Late last week, the district emailed a communication with a link to the ACLU's "Know Your Rights Guide" before quickly replacing it with an FAQ of its own.

"This resource replaces the original link sent in our family email due to inadvertent web advertising," the statement clarified. "We regret any perceived political association."

"The important piece is that we have accurate information out there," Appleton's School Board President Kay Eggert said. "We want the information but we would like to present it in as much of an apolitical way as possible. ... I don't want to politicize. It's about people. Let's just make sure people are being taken care of."

Last weekend, Abbotsford's Superintendent Baker was invited to a local rally that offered legal advice from a Minnesota area law group. She was contacted in the hopes she would attend in support of the event. She chose not to attend, but informed her staff of the resource.

“I have to walk a tightrope as the administrator of the building, not to choose sides," Baker said. "I know there are administrators that do choose sides but I serve all kids."

Menasha and Appleton sent out district-wide emails with translations to explain the laws students and families should be aware of.

Several districts also worked to inform their staff about the events of last week and to be aware of potential trauma or anxiety students may be battling while in school, as many districts now train their staff in trauma-informed practices.

Schools are also working to navigate their place in the community as a whole in different ways, some by partnering with local organizations like Casa Hispana in the Fox Valley to reach an invisible population in need.

Fagundes said trust is a major issue for undocumented people. Engaging with "the system," even if it is the schools, can be difficult, and he's seen parents fail to advocate for their students' rights in school because of their status.

"For the most part, the kids are U.S. citizens by birth. It's the parents that are undocumented," he said. "In my experience, the real problem there is a lack of communication from the parents to the school in any way, shape or form because there's a fear. They don't wanna call attention to themselves in any way."

Ultimately, it's all about understanding what students may be dealing with, Appleton West's McQuade said.

"I always believe that we can do a better job of developing those relationships that build trust," he said. "We have to make sure that we're doing a good job letting students know that they can ask us questions. I hope that the same holds true for our parents. ... I think as a school we are a resource to, really, the entire community."

Know your rights

Local school officials and immigration advocates recommend anyone who has a family member who is undocumented should create an action plan to follow in the event of a loved one's arrest and to contact their schools to find out about policies and resources.